LESSON OF THE DAY 636

Ayahs of the Day:
The Benevolent One, sitting firmly on the Throne, to Whom belongs what is in the heavens and what is on earth and what is in between, and what is under the ground. And if you proclaim the word, God knows the secret and the most hidden. God---there is no deity! The most beautiful names pertain to God. [20: 5 to 8]

Hadith of the Day:
A believer is a mirror for a believer, and a believer is the brother of a believer; he safeguards him from destruction and protects him in his absence. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Adherence to the sunna, increase in one's worship and obedience to the sacred law are all signs of intimacy with the Divine. [Ibrahim bin Dawud al Warqi]

Guidance of the Day:
How we use our words affects not only us. It affects other people. We can transfer our anger to another person and can receive someone else's anger. We have to be selective and understand what we give to someone, how much and in what way. If you continue to nourish the pain or loneliness or anger that you have, eventually you will have to give it a room in your house. It will then occupy a space within you. The Muslims use the broom of la, of no, to sweep out these things from the heart. Muslims live according to the conditions, precepts, and conduct that were brought to them by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

If you allow room in your house for sorrow, laziness, and deceit, these will eventually take over your life, and it will be more difficult to find space for joy, happiness, and bliss. Mawlana Rumi tells us that the grace of Allah bestows a throat on all things. The earth has a throat, and it drinks the water that's sent from the sky and becomes nourished, and in turn gives off plants and herbs. Animals have a throat to eat these plants and herbs and to be nourished by them. Man has a throat, and he eats the animals. The faith that Allah has given us as a gift is a throat that consumes all the vanities and fancies of man. It's like the staff of Moses that ate the snake of the Pharaoh. Within us we have the equivalent of the staff of Moses. We have a faith that can devour the Pharaoh's snake within us. [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
Remembrance of the people is a disease, and the remembrance of Allah is the cure. Yet how strange it is that we hasten to the disease and not to the cure!

LESSON OF THE DAY 635

Ayahs of the Day:
We did not reveal the Recital to you that you should be distressed, but as a reminder for the wary, a revelation from the One who created the earth and the heavens on high. [20:1 to 4]

Hadith of the Day:
The burden of proof is on the accuser and the swearing the oath is on the one accused. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Treat the members of your family with love and respect, because they act as wings with which you fly, and as hands that support you and fight for you. They are people toward whom you turn when in trouble and in need. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Human beings have the opportunity and the possibility to become real human beings both internally and externally. If we reflect, why we are here? What is the purpose in this life? We didn't ask to come here. We find ourselves here. These are questions that we could ask throughout our lives, and many people have asked them with great confusion.

Allah said, "I was a hidden treasure, and I wished to be known. So I created man in order to be known." In this statement, Allah says that He has given us the possibility, the potential, the guidance and the support that we need to know Him. Man can know Allah. It is our purpose in life to have faith, to worship, and to love Him. And also to fear Him. Although He is all-merciful and most forgiving. He can be feared. The mouse fears the cat, not the lion. The man of the world fears the policeman, not Allah. Allah is too great.

We have come to a place of understanding in order to know our love and our fears. We are under the protection of Allah. This world, this life is a place we are just passing through. We have to learn to serve one another. Service is the heart of Islam. You must want more for your brother than you want for yourself, and, more important, before you want it for yourself. [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
What do we live for if it is not to make life less difficult for each other. Very few burdens are heavy if everyone lifts. When you are committed to helping others---and you persevere steadfastly---miracles really do occur.

LESSON OF THE DAY 634

Ayah of the Day:
And how many generations have we annihilated before them----do you see a single one of them, or hear a whisper of them? [19: 98]

Hadith of the Day:
A (true) emigrant is he who abandons all wrongs and sins. [Ahmad, Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The actions of those who misinterpret the actions of their believing brothers are also misinterpreted, and they suffer the punishment in it. [Badiuzzaman Sa'id Nursi]

Guidance of the Day:
If we look for a rose without thorns, we'll have a problem. Allah put thorns on the stem to protect the rose. With beauty there is always pain. But this life cannot be an endless fulfillment of joy. If we have faith in Allah, then whatever afflictions come to us, we will not be affected by them, we will not nourish them with our attention. If we are feeling lonely, and we feed that loneliness with our attention, it will grow. Faith in Allah is an inoculation against loneliness.

Allah loves each one of us. Allah has created us. We are not here by accident. This world is a perfect design. If we can see it. If we can see ourselves and our surroundings. A vast sky held up by no pillars. A carpet of earth that gives us all the food and fruit and nourishment we need to live. Animals of every species. Some that we can ride, some that we can eat, some that can help us in our work. They have specific duties. You can't tie a lion to a cart.

They have all been placed here as a means for us to see our inner natures. Just because we are dressed like human beings does not exempt us from having animal tendencies. The mouse in us that steals a little bit from here and there. The vain peacock that grooms himself all the time. The sly fox. The stubborn donkey that closes his ear to the Name of Allah. The scorpion that stings. These are all in us. Human beings have the opportunity and the possibility not only to brush all that away but to become real human beings both internally and externally. [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
Love, true love, is that which can give the most without asking or demanding anything in return. The value of life is not dependent upon the length of time on this earth, but rather on the amount of love given and shared during the time, that we have.

LESSON OF THE DAY 633

Ayah of the Day:
We have simply made it (the Quran) easy, in your own language, for you to give good news to the conscientious thereby, and for you to give warning to contentious people thereby. [19: 97]

Hadith of the Day:
A (true) warrior is one who exerts himself in obedience to Allah. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Doing good for a good done to you is simply repayment, whereas doing good for an evil done to you is a tremendous virtue. [Omar radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Beginning of knowledge is patience. A quality that would be good for everyone to acquire. Patience is a staff you can lean on. Allah is pleased with those who are patient. Within all of us we have the staff of Moses. We also have the staff that turned into the snake. Within us we have Moses as well as Pharaoh. Let Moses be the one who is victorious within us.

Within Islam there's something called adab, proper spiritual conduct. There's adab for the noble. There is adab for the sheikh, for the spiritual guide. But adab, spiritual courtesy, is never complete until you complete the adab toward yourself. For true adab is spiritual consciousness.

Loyalty and friendship go together. We have to know how to be friends. We wish to know Allah, but we don't know ourselves. We must begin to see in a way that we can learn about ourselves. Learn about this blessing that Allah has given us. Because we are, each of us, a blessing. Allah has placed a part of His Beauty in each one of us. And what He has not given to one person, He's given to another. We have to learn to read the book of ourselves. What does this book tell us? Can we not see the miracle that we are? See that Allah has not given these gifts to any other creature in the world? [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from it. The best use of life is to spend for something that outlasts life. Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think. Do not take life too seriously; you will never get out of it alive.

LESSON OF THE DAY 632

Ayah of the Day:
It is not appropriate for the Benevolent One to beget a son: it is only a servant that every being in the heavens and on earth, without exception, comes to the Benevolent One, Who has counted and numbered them; and to whom each of them will come alone on the Day of Resurrection. As for those who believed and acted with integrity, the Benevolent One will give them love. [19: 92 to 96]

Hadith of the Day:
A (true) believer is he whom people trust with their lives and possessions. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Know that it is with ilm (knowledge) that you must speak, and that it is with hilm (forbearance) that you must remain silent. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
We all live together at the same time on the same planet and all have the same problems whether we are rich or poor. We can laugh today and be sad tomorrow. One day tender hands caress and soothe our head, while on another day we may have a headache. All of life is a weaning process. The infant must be weaned from the breast that at one time gave it its complete nourishment. Then at another time it becomes a barrier to the hundreds of different tastes of food. So the child must be weaned. We must wean ourselves little by little. Wean those things out of our lives that are no longer useful. That have become meaningless. That have become like toys in our lives.

In each stage of our life there are things that may be good, but we must let go of them in order to gain and benefit from new foods that wait to nourish us. As an embryo, our nourishment was blood. Then it became milk, and then we took solid food. At the point we wean ourselves from solid food, we become interested in the hidden game. For us, the hidden game is Islam---submission to our Creator and helping His creation. Desire for this world closes the ear and self-interest closes the eye. Physical life is short, but the essence of life is long. What we need in this life is patience and resolve to live in accordance with the commandments of the Creator. And that is the supreme success. [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
One has to be careful when having a direct and lasting effect on another person's negative emotions. An agreement may appear to be the most caring and loyal means of help, but in reality, it can work to the contrary as you reinforce the negative feelings.

LESSON OF THE DAY 631

Ayah of the Day:
They say, "The Benevolent One has begotten a son." You have certainly come up with a terrible thing! The skies are nearly rent asunder from it, the earth nearly splits, and the mountains nearly crumble, that they should assign a son to the Benevolent One: [19: 88, 89, 90]

Hadith of the Day:
A (true) Muslim is he from whose tongue and hand other believers remain safe. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The wise attain honor through their humbleness, whereas the fool bears humiliation through his haughtiness. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
The hidden game is the road back to Allah. It is the understanding of where we came from, where we are, and where we are going. Faith in Allah is an inoculation against the pain and disease of the world. Faith in Allah is a protective cloak. Faith in Allah is a gift. As we can see, in the world around us, not everyone realizes that this gift is available nor do they accept it. Everything good is a gift from Allah, and everything bad is a misuse of that gift.

The life Allah gave us should be measured in breaths, not in years. Because from infancy to old age, we learn, and we mature. We believe that as we grow older we have more understanding. This is not necessarily so. If we can understand that with every breath, our life is lessened, then our life acquires an immediacy. The heart should grow and come to perfection, because the heart is the subtle entity and essence that takes in all impressions. This is how we learn, understand, and gain knowledge. The heart is the learning ground.

Anyone who taints or teaches bad things to the heart of a child, which is like a jewel, will one day have to answer to Allah. For it's the heart of a child that imitates the hearts of those around him. And there's an enormous responsibility to having a child near you. For that child is going to imitate not only your actions, but even the subtlety of your feelings. And that responsibility will be questioned. [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
Wealth and want equally harden the human heart. The head learns new things, but the heart forever more practices old experiences. Two things are bad for the heart----running up stairs and running down people.

LESSON OF THE DAY 630

Ayahs of the Day:
One day We will gather the conscientious to the Benevolent One, like an embassy to a royal court. And We will herd the sinners into hell, like animals to water. No one has the power to intercede, except someone who has an agreement with the Benevolent One. [19: 83, 84,85]

Hadith of the Day:
All created beings are Allah's dependents, and the most beloved of the creation to Allah is the one who is good to His dependents. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Indeed the sword may wound the body, but it is the foul speech which wounds the soul. [Othman radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
One should watch one's tongue. Especially in daily life. Because the tongue can truly be the sweetest or the most bitter thing in the world. One of the most detrimental parts of man, which keep him separated from Allah, is gossip and his tongue and words that are misused. This tongue that we use to pronounce the name of Allah, and then use it to say to somebody, "you are stupid" or "I hate you," is absurd. Because we know the effect that has without even taking it to a point of gossip. Within gossip, the soul of the speaker as well as that of the listener can be lost.

The tongue is tied to the heart. It is said that a man's character is hidden beneath his tongue, because the tongue says what is in the heart. So when we speak, we are expressing what is in our hearts. And though Allah says He cannot fit into the entire universe but can fit into the heart of a believer, He doesn't say that He will fit in the heart if it's cluttered with bad thoughts, deeds, and questions. Such a heart must first be cleaned. If we could really understand how to watch our words, to know that spoken words are like seeds that we plant which will eventually grow into something sweet or bitter. If you plant peppers, you can't expect sugarcane. Our actions in this life are seeds we are planting for the other life promised by Allah.

Every morning when we wake up, we are born again. When we open our eyes in the morning and we look at ourselves, it's as if Allah has created us right then and there. If we remember Allah while we are alive, Insha'Allah, at the moment of our death, He will allow us to remember Him. Allah has left traces and messages everywhere, right now, today, in every one of our lives. The more veils we can lift, the more we can see with the eyes of our heart, allow for a deeper understanding, and Insha'Allah we can use this body to perform the good things in life. And these ears to hear the name of Allah, and this tongue to say the name of Allah. [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
To speak kindly does not hurt the tongue. Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of the pleasures; costs nothing and conveys much. It pleases him who gives and him who receives, and thus, like mercy, it is twice blessed.

LESSON OF THE DAY 629

Ayah of the Day:
And God increases the guidance of those who accept guidance. And the things that endure, the good deeds, are better, with your Lord, in terms of reward; and best for their final return. [19: 76]

Hadith of the Day:
A truthful and trustworthy trader will be in the company of the prophets, the very truthful, and martyrs. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Inordinate desires have close relations with misfortunes and calamities. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Allah created the universe for man so man is the macrocosm or greater world while the universe is the microcosm or lesser world. The universe was created outwardly great but is inwardly small. All that exists was brought into creation for the sake of man.

Islam is an inoculation against the ills, the pains, the diseases of the world. The greatest gift that Allah has given is the gift to worship Him. But He has also allowed us the free will to decide whether or not that is what we want to do. That decision is linked to everything about us, to whatever problems we may think we have in life, to whatever ills, to whether we are conscious about how we use our health before we lose it or how we use our leisure before we have none. It is also linked to an attitude that each of us has, whether we truly believe that Allah created man, and He sent a book and a man to give us an example, and yet we still live our lives with a certain number of veils that cover how and what we see.

We still have not understood that the manner in which we look at something will reveal untold bits of knowledge. We create blocks within our own lives and within our own experiences that do not allow us to see clearly. One way we always make a block that doesn't allow us to get closer to Allah is the misuse of our words. The heaviest burden that we carry from one place to another is our words. As soon as we say something that criticizes someone, as soon as we say something that judges someone, this tongue which is locked behind two rows of hard teeth and two lips that close as soon as we allow words to go out without thinking first, and gossip or ridicule or say something about someone, we are creating a block that doesn't let us get close to Allah. That is why the Prophet of Islam (Peace be upon him) said, "Hold your tongue," to somebody when he was asked, "What can I do to help myself?" Because who a person is, is hidden beneath his tongue. [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
Not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free from indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood.

LESSON OF THE DAY 628

Ayah of the Day:
Say, "If any goes astray, the Benevolent One grants an extension until they see what they are promised, be it the agony or the end of time: then they will know who was in the worse position and weaker in forces. [19: 75]

Hadith of the Day:
Traders will be gathered on the Day of Judgment as transgressors, except those who feared Allah, were righteous (in their oaths), and spoke the truth. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Man knows that he is weak. Yet how strange that he continues to disobey the One Who is strongest of all. [Abu Bakr radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
When we are with others, we not only have the opportunity to learn about them, we can also learn about ourselves. Can we get a true reflection from mirrors backed by silver and darkness? We really need to reflect and the real question each of us must ask and face is this: How do we live our lives? When we pray, are we thinking about getting it over quickly so we can get on with what we believe is more urgent in life? Are we always caught up in doing what is urgent and not what is important in life? When we look at our lives,can we see what really matters? What is most important? How can we raise our children in this world? We have a responsibility toward them. If we become closer to Allah, they become closer to Allah.

We must introduce adventure into our lives. We must extricate ourselves from this sensation of swimming in pea soup through the day. We have to do things differently. We have to learn lessons from everything. There are lessons in everything. In preparing our food, where food comes from and being healthy enough to eat the food. There are millionaires in hospitals who can't take a drink of water.

Food comes from Allah. In it, there is a message. Something usually has to be removed from each piece of food that we eat. Either the skin, the bones, or a crust. Even if nothing has to be removed, the food is at least washed or inspected. Yet we come home from work, and never wash the anger from our bodies. We don't wash the tension from ourselves. We will immediately go to husband, wife, friend, or child, and embrace them before we remove that anger and tension and trouble of the day. Then we wonder why the relationship isn't working or why there are problems. The message is right there in that piece of food which nourishes us. But we have to learn to see. [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience. None are so blind as those who refuse to see, and none are so deaf as those who refuse to hear.

LESSON OF THE DAY 627

Ayahs of the Day:
Everlasting gardens, which the Benevolent has promised to devotees, in the unseen; for the divine promise is sure to come about. They will hear no nonsense there, but only greetings of peace. And they will have their provision there, morning and evening. That is the garden We bequeath to those of Our servants who were conscientious. [19: 61, 62, 63]

Hadith of the Day:
Songs make hypocrisy grow in the heart just as water makes crops grow. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If in spite of intense supplication, there is a delay in the timing of the Gift, let that not be the cause for your despair. For He has guaranteed you a response in what He chooses for you, not in what you choose for yourself, and at the time He desires, not the time you desire. [Ibn Ataillah]

Guidance of the Day:
Every morning when we get up, we must remember two things--Allah and our death. If we remember Allah and if we remember our death, then our lives will be different. There is a fixed time limit of life for each one of us that Allah has kept a secret. If we remember our death, then we will also remember that all things and all beings are temporary. If we remember Allah we will do all things in divine thoughtfulness, kindness, and understanding. Because we will understand that He not only created us, but He created everyone and everything that we see. If there are wrongs occurring in this world that we don't like, then the way to right them is curing ourselves, each one of ourselves individually.

Why do you think that in a supposedly civilized world there are terrorism, war, hijacking, and hostages? All these and more exist because man has forgotten where he came from, where he is, and where he is going. The message from Allah often comes through opposites. If we don't see the bad, we will never see the good. If we only see health, He shows us illness. If we only see the living, we'll take life for granted, so He shows us death. So, after we have opened our eyes and we have thanked Allah and we have remembered Him, we remember our death, and by remembering our death we know that nothing will last, nothing! How many have come before us and are no longer here? Those we have known and those we haven't known,greater people than us, and yet we pass each day with arrogance. We are blinded and caught by what the world seems to be offering, which is only some temporary pabulum. [When you hear the hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
People seem to forget how one simple act of kindness can change someone for ever. Giving is so often thought of in terms of the gifts we give, but our greatest giving is of our time, and kindness, and even comfort for those who need it. We look on these little things as unimportant--------until we need them.

LESSON OF THE DAY 626

Ayah of the Day:
But a generation came after them who neglected prayer and followed cravings; and they will meet with perdition, except whoever repents and believes and acts with integrity--those will enter the garden, and will not be wronged at all. [19: 59, 60]

Hadith of the Day:
The believer is one who is sociable (with others), and there is no good in one who is not sociable (to others) nor in one who is not met sociably (by them). [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Someone who draws your attention to an unpleasant habit, or a negative feature of your character, so that you can cleanse yourself of it is like one who warns you of a snake or scorpion under your robe---he has shown concern lest you perish. If you disapprove of that, how great is your folly! [Imam Ghazali]

Guidance of the Day:
Not only are we obliged to seek knowledge, we must also understand how to behave in life. We will never understand this unless we observe ourselves in our daily life. Observe ourselves, and not try immediately to change, but to say, "Ah, this lazy one again, how easily he got angry." We must first try to recognize all the faults within us, in order to change them into qualities, in order to become our own shepherd. We must pull out the arrow of useless thoughts, throw it away, and discard the toys of our mind before it is too late.

Life is a gift that consists of three days and two are gone. No matter how much money you have, regardless of how much influence you have in this world, you cannot bring those days back. We have one day left, and in that remaining day are we going to seek the pleasures of the world that are so temporary? Can we not put the love of Allah in our hearts before that heart becomes dust? For dust it will become. And for those who could never have enough of big houses and acres of land, one day they will have to be satisfied with six feet of earth.

How can we remove these veils.....before our eyes can no longer see and our ears no longer hear? There is a time limit. It is Allah's secret, and it is different for each one of us. But our intelligence tells us there is a time limit. This very same intelligence that doesn't even see we are dying at every moment. Then one day we have gray in our hair, wrinkles on our skin. If all this is happening on the outside, it must also be happening inside our bodies. We will go. All it takes is one moment, and we will never be able to see with eyes again or smell with this nose or hear with these ears or breathe with these lungs or walk with these legs. [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame. It's okay to be angry, but it isn't healthy to be resentful. We can learn to deal with our anger in ways that are healthy for us and for those around us.

LESSON OF THE DAY 625

Ayahs of the Day:
And mention Idris in the Book, for he was a man of truth, a prophet, and We raised him to a high position. Those were some of the prophets whom God graced, from the descendents of Adam, and from those We carried along with Noah, and from the offspring of Abraham and Ishmael, from among those We guided and chose. Whenever the signs of the Benevolent One were related to them, they would fall down, prostrate and weeping. [19: 56,57,58]

Hadith of the Day:
Moderation in spending is half of (one's) sustenance, friendliness toward people is half of (one's) intelligence, and asking good questions is half of (one's) knowledge. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Grant favor and be considerate of your enemy, because you will thus gain either one or the other of the two kinds of victories; one, rising above your enemy; the other, reducing the intensity of his enmity. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
You can plan for a hundred years, but you don't know what will happen in the next moment. Just as the human predicament transcends all the boundaries of time and place, the eternal facts of life revolve around problems of living that every person must face,the meaning of life and the inevitability of death.

There are, ofcourse, psychologies and there are psychologies. And then there is the perennial psychology, the one that addresses the ultimate questions of life. This ultimate psychology stems from a different mode of knowing than does ordinary psychology; it requires an inner knowing. From such a sense of inner certainty flows faith. "Faith in Allah is an inoculation against the diseases of the world." It is in dealing with these "diseases of the world" -- with greed, lust, anger, jealousy, self-pity, and all the other roots of heaviness of heart -- that the perennial psychology is distinct from ordinary psychology. This is a psychology that begins where modern psychology end; that deals with the largest issues of life rather than smallest.

Islam asks us to gain knowledge. To have knowledge of Allah it is necessary to have knowledge of our selves. If we truly know ourselves, then we will know Allah. If Allah allows us to know Him, we might know ourselves. We are not something that just happened; each of us is a miracle. This power that brought us here will remove us from here. If we understood this, we would not take ourselves for granted. In this universe that Allah has created, we are His supreme miracle. If we walk through this life totally unconscious, half-asleep, then how can we thank Him? [When you hear hoofbeats think of a zebra by Shems Friedlander]

Food for Thought:
What we do today, right now, will have an accumulated effect on all our tomorrows. People who give freely to others get back more than they give.

LESSON OF THE DAY 624

Ayah of the Day:
And mention Ishmael in the Book, for he was true to his promise and was a messenger, a prophet. He used to enjoin prayer and charity on his people, and he was acceptable to his Lord. [19: 54,55]

Hadith of the Day:
The Qur'an will either be evidence for you or against you. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
How can the laws of nature be ruptured for you so that miracles result, while you, for your part, have not yet ruptured your bad habits. [Ibn Ataillah]

Guidance of the Day:
A human being is the kind of machine that wears out from lack of use. There are limits, of course, and we do need healthful rest and relaxation, but for the most part we gain energy by using energy. Often the best remedy for physical weariness is thirty minutes of aerobic exercise. In the same way, mental and spiritual lassitude is often cured by decisive action or the clear intention to act. Human energy comes into existence through use. You can't hoard it. It might well be that all of us possess enormous stores of potential energy, more than we could ever hope to use.

Even serious blows in life can give you extra energy by knocking you off dead center, shaking you out of lethargy. Acknowledging the blows doesn't mean sniveling; it means facing the truth and then moving on. Above all else, move and keep moving. Take time for wise planning, but don't take forever. Whatever you can do or dream you can---begin it, boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Get on the path of mastery and stay on it. A regular practice not only elicits energy but tames it. Without the firm underpinnings of a practice, deadlines can produce violent swings between frantic activity and collapse.

Television makes it even more complicated. By offering endless possibilities, it tempts you to choose none, to sit staring in endless wonder, to become comatose. Indecision leads to inaction, which leads to low energy, depression, despair. Ultimately, liberation comes through the acceptance of limits. You can't do everything, but you can do one thing, and then another and another. In terms of energy it's better to make a wrong choice than none at all. [Mastery--The key to success and long term fulfillment]

Food for Thought:
You should forgive your enemies. That is one of the things you have got to do. You have to learn how not to harbor a grudge, how to forgive. Things change, not because we are controlling others, but because we change.

LESSON OF THE DAY 623

Ayah of the Day:
And mention Moses in the Book; he was one chosen, and was a messenger, a prophet. We called him from the right side of Mt. Sinai, and We drew him near to entrust a secret. And We gave him, out of our mercy, his brother Aaron, a prophet. [19: 51,52,53]

Hadith of the Day:
Backbiting is worse than unlawful intercourse. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Steeped in error is he who can find time to seek out the faults of others. He whose thoughts are vile and low can have nothing but the worst opinion of others. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Fitness and Health: Fitness and health are related to everything we do, think and feel. Thus what we are calling Ultimate Fitness has less to do with running a 2:30 marathon than living a good life.

Follow a regular practice. People embarking on any type of change can gain stability and comfort through practicing some worthwhile activity on a more or less regular basis, not so much for the sake of achieving an external goal as simply for its own sake. Practice is a habit, and any regular practice provides a sort of underlying homeostasis, a stable base during the instability of change.

Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning. We tend to forget that learning is much more than book learning. To learn is to change. Education, whether it involves books, body, or behavior, is a process that changes the learner. It doesn't have to end at college graduation or at age forty or sixty or eighty, and the best learning of all involves learning how to learn--that is, to change. The lifelong learner is essentially one who has learned to deal with homeostasis, simply because he or she is doing it all the time. Lifelong learning is the special province of those who travel the path of mastery, the path that never ends. [Mastery--the key to success and long-term fulfillment by George Leonard]

Food for Thought:
The capacity to care is the thing that gives life its deepest meaning and significance. Blessed are those that can give without remembering and take without forgetting.

LESSON OF THE DAY 622

Ayahs of the Day:
(Abraham said to his father) "And I will keep away from you all and whatever you pray to instead of God; and I will pray to my Lord; perhaps I may not be disappointed by prayer to my Lord." Then when he had withdrawn from them and what they worshipped besides God, We gave him Isaac and Jacob; and We made each one a prophet. And We gave to them of Our mercy, and gave them a lofty reputation for truth. [19: 48, 49, 50]

Hadith of the Day:
The tooth-stick (miswaak) purifies the mouth and pleases the Lord. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
How can a sane person be conceited about the spiritual works, when his works are but a gift from Allah and a blessing from Him that he should thank Him for. [Abu Sulaiman al Darani]

Guidance of the Day:
Giving: Don't be afraid of giving. For a while, we may need to back off from giving as we learn to discern the difference between healthy giving and caretaking, which leaves us feeling victimized and others feeling resentful. This is a temporary spot. To be healthy to do our part in this spiritual way of life, to be part of the cycle of the universe, guided by our Creator, we need to give and receive. Both parts are important.

What is healthy giving? This is a fine lined behavior each of us must seek to understand for ourselves. It is giving that feels good and does not leave us feeling victimized. It is feeling that holds the giver and the receiver in high esteem. It is giving based on a desire to do it rather than from a sense of guilt, pity, shame, or obligation. It is giving with no strings attached. Or it is giving based on clean direct contract.

Whether it is giving of our time, efforts, energy, comfort, nurturing, money, or ourselves, it is giving that we can afford. Giving is part of chain of giving and receiving. We can learn to give in healthy ways; we can learn to give in love. We need to keep an eye on our giving, to make sure it has not crossed the line into caretaking. But we need to learn to give in ways that work for us and others. Ask God to guide you in your giving in healthy ways, what feels right, what feels good, what feels clean, and what you can afford. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

LESSON OF THE DAY 621

Ayahs of the Day:
He (Abraham's father) said, "Do you detest my gods, Abraham? If you don't restrain yourself, I'll stone you. Now leave me alone for a long time. Abraham said, "Peace be upon you. I will seek forgiveness for you of my Lord, Who has been gracious to me. [19: 46, 47]

Hadith of the Day:
The upper (giving) hand is superior to the lower (taking) hand. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Do not be like persons on whom advice has no effect and who require punishment to correct themselves. A sensible and reasonable man acquires education and culture through advice, and brutes and beasts always accept correction through punishment and chastisement. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
God's will: Each day, ask God what God wants us to do today; then ask God to help. A simple request, but so profound and far reaching it can take us anywhere we need to go.

Listen: all that we want, all that we need, all the answers, all the help, all the good, all the love, all the healing, all the wisdom, all the fulfillment of desire is embodied in this simple request. We need say no more than Thank You.

This plan that has been made for us is not one of deprivation. It is one of fullness, joy, and abundance. Walk into it. See for yourself. Today ask God to show you what He wants you to do for this day, and then ask for help to do that. Trust that this is sufficient to take you into light and joy. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
The only exercise some people get is jumping to conclusions, running down their friends, side stepping their responsibilities, and pushing their luck.

LESSON OF THE DAY 620

Ayah of the Day:
(Abraham said); "Father, knowledge that never reached you has come to me, so follow me and I will guide you on a straight path. Father, do not worship Satan, for Satan is a rebel against the Benevolent. Father, I fear that a punishment from the Benevolent may strike you, and you may become a friend of Satan. [19: 43, 44 45]

Hadith of the Day:
Oppression will be darknesses on the Day of Judgment. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Leisure time will never remain unoccupied. It will be filled with good or evil. If one does not occupy himself with good, the self will occupy him with evil. Successful is the one who fills his time with good and righteous, and woe to him who fills it with evil and corruption. [Shaykh Yusuf al Qardawi]

Guidance of the Day:
Letting Go: Letting go is a spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical process, a sometimes mysterious metaphysical process of releasing to God that which we are clinging to so tightly. We let go of our grasp on people, outcomes, ideas, feelings, wants, needs, desires -- everything. We let go of trying to control our progress. Yes, it's important to acknowledge and accept what we want and what we want to happen. But it's equally important to follow through by letting go. Letting go is the action part of faith. It means that we acknowledge that hanging on so tightly isn't helping to solve the problem, change the person, or get the outcome we desire. It isn't helping us. In fact we learn that hanging on often blocks us from getting what we want and need.

Who are we to say that things aren't happening exactly as they need to happen? There is a magic in letting go. Sometimes we get what we want soon after we let go. Sometimes it takes longer. Sometimes the specific outcome we desire doesn't happen. Sometimes better does. Letting go sets us free and connects us with our Source. Letting go creates the optimum environment for the best possible outcomes and solutions. Relax. Let go of that which is upsetting you the most. Trust that by letting go you have started the wheels in motion for things to work out in the best possible way. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength. The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

LESSON OF THE DAY 619

Ayah of the Day:
And mention Abraham in the Book, for he was truly veracious, a prophet. Remember how he said to his father, "Why do you worship what does not hear or see, father, and is of no use to you? [19: 41, 41]

Hadith of the Day:
A believer is simple and noble and a transgressor is deceitful and ignoble. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Beneficial knowledge is the one whose ray of light expands in the mind and uncovers the veil over the heart. [Ibn AtaAllah]

Guidance of the Day:
The Magic of Gratitude and Acceptance: Gratitude and acceptance are two magic tricks available to us. No matter who we are, where we are, or what we have, gratitude and acceptance work. We may eventually become so happy that we realize our present circumstances are good. Or we master our present circumstances and then move forward into the next set of circumstances. If we become stuck, miserable, feeling trapped and hopeless, try gratitude and acceptance. If we have tried unsuccessfully to alter our present circumstances to feel like we're beating our head against a brick wall, try gratitude and acceptance.

If we feel like all is dark and the night will never end, try gratitude and acceptance.

If we feel scared and uncertain, try gratitude and acceptance.

If we've tried everything else and nothing seems to work, try gratitude and acceptance.

If we've been fighting something, try gratitude and acceptance.

When all else fails, go back to the basics.
Gratitude and acceptance work. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

LESSON OF THE DAY 618

Ayahs of the Day:
So warn them of a day of sorrow, when the matter will be decided, and they are heedless and do not believe. It is we who will inherit the earth and everyone on it, as it is to Us that they will be returned. [19: 39, 40]

Hadith of the Day:
Modesty is a branch of faith. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
When your brother is out of sight, mention him as you would like him to mention you when you are out of his sight. [Sufyan al Thawri]

Guidance of the Day:
The Victim Trap: We can change our negative beliefs about life,and whether we have the power to stop our pain and take care of ourselves. We aren't helpless. We can solve problems. We do have the power -- not to change or control others, but to solve the problems that are ours to solve. Using each problem that comes our way to "prove" that life is hard and we are helpless -- this is codependency. It's the victim trap. Life does not have to be difficult. In fact, it can be good. Life is good. We don't have to "awfulize" it, or ourselves. We don't have to live on the underside.

We do have power, more power than we know, even in the difficult times. And the difficult times don't prove life is bad; they are part of ups and downs of life; often, they work out for the best. We can change our attitude; we can change ourselves; sometimes, we can change our circumstances. Life is challenging. Sometimes, there's more joy than we imagined. It's all part of the package, and the package is good. We are not victims of life. We can learn to remove ourselves as victims of life. By letting go of our belief that life has to be hard and difficult, we make our life much easier. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
The shortest distance between a problem and its solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Creator can stand up to anything.

LESSON OF THE DAY 617

Ayah of the Day:
Having a son is not attributable to God, Who is beyond that, and when having determined something merely says to it "Be," and it is. [19: 35]

Hadith of the Day:
Calmness and patient deliberation is from Allah and haste is from Satan. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The one who makes gracious patience the foundation of all his affairs turns to every goodness, reaches everything that he hopes for, and wins all that he seeks. [Imam al Haddad]

Guidance of the Day:
Letting Our Anger Out: It's okay to be angry, but it isn't healthy to be resentful. Regardless of what we learned as children, no matter what we saw role-modeled, we can learn to deal with our anger in ways that are healthy for us and for those around us. We can connect with them, own them, express them, release them, and be done with them. We can learn to listen to what anger is telling us about what we want and need in order to take care of ourselves.

Sometimes we can even indulge in angry feelings that aren't justified. Feelings are just feelings; but there is morality in our behavior. We can feel angry without hurting or abusing others or ourselves. We can learn to deal with anger in ways that benefit our relationships instead of ways that harm them. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
He is happy whose circumstances suit his temper; but he is more excellent who suits his temper to his circumstances. Life is not always what one wants it to be, but to make the best of it as it is, is the only way of being happy.

LESSON OF THE DAY 616

Ayah of the Day:
Say, "I am only a human being, like you, but it has been revealed to me that your deity is one God. So whoever hopes to meet his Lord should act with integrity and not compromise with anyone the worship of his Lord." [18: 110]

Hadith of the Day:
A person will be with whom he loves. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need. [Khalil Gibran]

Guidance of the Day:
Timing: Wait until the time is right. It is self-defeating to postpone or procrastinate; it is also self-defeating to act too soon, before the time is right. Sometimes, we panic and take action out of fear. Sometimes, we take untimely action for revenge or because we want to punish someone. We act or speak too soon as a way to control or force someone to action. Sometimes, we take action too soon to relieve feelings of discomfort or anxiety about how a situation will turn out.

An action taken too soon can be as ineffective as one taken too late. It can backfire and cause more problems than it solves. Usually, when we wait until the time is right -- sometimes only a matter of minutes or hours -- the discomfort dissolves, and we are empowered to accomplish what we need to do. We need to learn to be effective. Our answers will come. Our guidance will come. Pray. Trust. Wait. Let go. We are being led. We are being guided. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
First I was dying to finish high school and start college.
And then I was dying to finish college and start working.
And then I was dying to marry and have children.
And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school.
And then I was dying to retire.
And now, I am dying......and suddenly I realize I forgot to live.

LESSON OF THE DAY 615

Ayah of the Day:
Say, "Even if the ocean were ink for the words of my Lord, the ocean would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if we brought an equal amount to help." [18: 109]

Hadith of the Day:
Supplication is the essence of worship. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Overcome yours egos that you may be saved from the snares that devoured kings and paupers alike. [Abdul Qadir Jilani]

Guidance of the Day:
Discipline: Children need discipline to feel secure; so do adults.
Discipline means understanding there are logical consequences to our behavior. Discipline means taking responsibility for our behavior and the consequences.
Discipline means learning to wait for what we want.
Discipline means being able to work for and toward what we want.
Discipline means learning and practicing new behaviors.
Discipline means being where we need to be, when we need to be there, despite our feelings.

Discipline is the day-to-day performing of tasks, whether these be recovery behaviors or washing the dishes.
Discipline involves trusting that our goals will be reached though we cannot see them.

Discipline can be grueling. We may feel afraid, confused, uncertain. Later, we will see the purpose. But this clarity of sight usually does not come during the time of discipline. We may not even believe we're moving forward.
But we are.
The task at hand during times of discipline is simple: listen, trust, and obey. Learn to surrender to discipline and know that as a result of discipline and learning, something important will work out. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Happiness comes more from loving than being loved; and often when our affection seems wounded it is only our vanity bleeding. To love, and to be hurt often, and to love again--this is the brave and happy life.

LESSON OF THE DAY 614

Ayahs of the Day:
As for those who believed and did good works, there are the gardens of Paradise for them as a welcome, where they will abide, wishing no change in them. [18: 107,108]

Hadith of the Day:
The best (person) is the one who pays the rights of others generously. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
It is through lawful sustenance that limbs incline to adoring their Lord, likewise it is through unlawful sustenance that covetousness and wrong doing gain strength. [Sahl bin Abdullah]

Guidance of the Day:
Meditation and Prayer: We need to meditate as a route to improving our conscious contact with God. Meditation is different from obsessing and worrying. Obsession and worrying are fear connections. Meditation means opening our mind and our spiritual energy to connection with God. To connect with God, we need to relax as best as we can and open our conscious and subconscious mind to a Higher Consciousness -- one that is available to each of us.

In the busyness of our day and life, it may seem like a waste of time to slow down, to stop what we are doing, and take this kind of break. It is no more a waste of time than stopping to put gas in our car when the tank is almost empty. It is necessary, it is beneficial, and it saves time. In fact, meditation can create more time and energy than the moments we take to do it. Meditation and prayer are powerful behaviors that work. We need to be patient. It is not reasonable to expect immediate answers, insight, or inspiration.

But solutions are coming. They are ready on the way, if we have done our part -- meditate and pray -- and then let the rest go. When our conscious contact with God improves, our subconscious contact will too. We will find ourselves increasingly tuned in to God's harmony and will for us. We will find and maintain that soul connection, the God connection. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
You don't get to choose how you are going to die or when, You can only decide how you are going to live now. Life is a movement, activity, striving, fighting against baser things. We have too much to do, too little time.

LESSON OF THE DAY 613

Ayahs of the Day:
Say, "Shall we tell you whose works are most fruitless? Those whose striving in the world has been mistaken, even as they reckon they are doing good deeds." They are the ones who denied the signs of God and the meeting with God; so their works have been in vain, and We will give them no weight on the day of resurrection. [18: 103,104,105]

Hadith of the Day:
One who treads a path in search of knowledge has his path to Paradise made easy by God. [Riyadh us Saliheen]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Move (turn to guidance) your heart with Quran. If you do not, then it is feared that it may be moved instead by its lowly passions and its desires for fleeting worldly pleasures, and even worse by sins. [Shaykh Fadl]

Guidance of the Day:
Clarity: When we are in the midst of an experience, it is easy to forget that there is a Plan. Sometimes, all we can see is today. If we were to watch a weaver sewing a tapestry for only a few moments, and focused on only a small piece of the work, it would not look beautiful. It would look like a few peculiar threads randomly placed. How often we use that same, limited perspective to look at our life -- especially when we are going through a difficult time.

We can learn to have perspective when we are going through those confusing, difficult learning times. When we are being pelleted by events that make us feel, think, and question, we are in the midst of learning something important. We can trust that something valuable is being worked out in us -- even when things are difficult, even when we cannot get our bearings. Insight and clarity do not come until we have mastered our lesson.

Faith is like a muscle. It must be exercised to grow strong. Repeated experiences of having to trust what we can't see and repeated experiences of learning to trust that things will work out, are what makes our faith muscles grow strong. Trust that the events in your life are not random. Your experiences are not a mistake. You are going through what you need to go through to learn something valuable, something that will prepare you for the joy and love you are seeking. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
All that you achieve and all that you fail to achieve is the direct result of your own thoughts. Your thoughts, not your circumstances, determine how you feel. An absence of negative thought brings forth a positive feeling.

LESSON OF THE DAY 612

Ayah of the Day:
And those communities We destroyed when they went wrong; but We set an appointed time for their destruction. [18: 59]

Hadith of the Day:
A generous man is near God, near Paradise, near men, and far from Hell. But a miser is far from God, far from Paradise, far from men, and near Hell. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The heights of a person are commensurate with his nearness to the Divine. [Sari al Saqti]

Guidance of the Day:
Detaching with love: Sometimes people we love do things we don't like or approve of. We react. They react. Before long, we are all reacting to each other, and the problem escalates. When do we detach? When we are hooked into a reaction of anger, fear, guilt, or shame. When we get hooked into a power play -- an attempt to control or force others to do something they don't want to do. When the way we are reacting isn't helping the other person or solving the problem. When the way we are reacting is hurting us.

Often, it's time to detach when detachment appears to be the least likely, or possible, thing to do. The first step toward detachment is understanding that reacting and controlling don't help. The next step is getting peaceful -- getting centered and restoring our balance. Take a walk. Leave the room. Go to a meeting. Call on God. Breathe deeply. Find peace. From that place of peace and centering will emerge an answer, a solution. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is like expecting the bull not to charge you because you are a vegetarian.

LESSON OF THE DAY 611

Ayah of the Day:
But your Lord is the most forgiving, full of mercy: were God to blame them for what they did, that would have hastened their punishment for them: but they have an appointment, and will find no other refuge. [18: 58]

Hadith of the Day:
God has disliked that you talk too much about others, ask too many questions and waste your wealth. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The seeker of deen increases in action, whereas the seeker of dunya increases only in information. [Abu Bakr radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Recovery: How easy it is to blame our problems on others. Often, our accusations are justified. We probably are feeling hurt and frustrated. In those moments, we may begin to believe that the solution to our pain and frustration is getting the other person to do what we want, or having the outcome we desire. But these self-defeating illusions put the power and control of our life in other people's hands.

The solution to our pain and frustration, however valid, is to acknowledge our own feelings. We feel the anger, the grief; then let go of the feelings and find peace -- within ourselves. We know our happiness isn't controlled by another person, even though we may have convinced ourselves it is. We call this acceptance.

Then we decide that although we'd like our situation to be different, may be our life is happening for a reason. May be there is a higher purpose and plan in play, one that's better than we could have orchestrated. We call this faith. Then we decide what we need to do, what is within our power to do to take care of ourselves. We call this recovery. It's easy to point our finger at another, but it's more rewarding to gently point it at ourselves. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Cheerfulness removes the rust from the mind, lubricates our inward machinery, and enables us to do our work with fewer creaks and groans. If people were universally cheerful, probably there wouldn't be half the quarreling or a tenth part of the wickedness there is. Cheerful people live longest here on this earth, afterward in our hearts.

LESSON OF THE DAY 610

Ayah of the Day:
And who is more wrong than one who turns away from the signs of his Lord when reminded of them, and forgets what he has brought about by his own hands? [18: 57]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not abuse anyone.... do not look down upon any good work, and when you speak to your brother, show him a cheerful face. [Abu Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The key to increase in good is gratitude, and the key to victory is patience. [Imam al Mannawi]

Guidance of the Day:
Learning to Wait: The people who are most successful at living and loving are those who can learn to wait successfully. Not many people enjoy waiting or learning patience. Yet, waiting can be a powerful tool that will help us accomplish much good. We cannot always have what we want when we want it. For different reasons, what we want to do, have, be, or accomplish is not available to us now. But there are things we could not do or have today, no matter what, that we can have in the future. Today, we would make ourselves crazy trying to accomplish what will come naturally and with ease later.

We can trust that all is on schedule. Waiting time is not wasted time. Something is being worked out -- in us, in someone else, in the universe. We don't have to put our life on hold while we wait. We can direct our attention elsewhere; we can practice acceptance and gratitude in the interim; we can trust that we do have a life to live while we are waiting -- then we go about living it. Deal with your frustration and impatience, but learn how to wait. Often, in life, we can get what we want -- especially the desires of our heart -- if we can learn to wait. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no winds can ever erase it.

LESSON OF THE DAY 609

Ayah of the Day:
We only send the emissaries as heralds and as warners; but those who scoff dispute by means of vanity, trying to refute the truth with it, taking My signs, and being warned, for a joke. [18: 56]

Hadith of the Day:
If you find earthly passions being obeyed, niggardliness holding sway, this temporal world being given preference, and everyone admiring his own opinion, you should keep to your own private affair. [Tirmidhi]

Wise quote of the Day:
It is the knowledge that guides to sincerity and purity and it is the knowledge that indicates what is the actual following the way of the Prophet, may blessings and peace of Allah be upon him. [Ibn al Qayyim]

Guidance of the Day:
Revenge: At times we may feel an overwhelming desire to punish, or get even, with another person. We want revenge. We want to see the other person hurt the way he or she has hurt us. We want to see life deal that person just rewards. Those are normal feelings, but we do not have to act on them. These feelings are part of our anger but it's not our job to deal justice. We can hold the other person accountable. We can hold the other person responsible. But it is not our responsibility to be judge and jury. Actively seeking revenge will not help us. It will block us and hold us back.

Walk away. unhook. Learn your lesson. Thank the other person for having taught you something valuable. And be finished with it. Put it behind, with the lesson intact. Acceptance helps. So does forgiveness--not the kind that invites the person to use us again, but a forgiveness that releases the other person and sets him or her free to walk a separate path, while releasing our anger and resentments. That sets us free to walk our own paths. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Tragedy and comedy are but two aspects of what is real, and whether we see the tragic or the humorous is a matter of perspective. People will see what they are prepared to see.

LESSON OF THE DAY 608

Ayah of the Day:
And what prevents people from believing when guidance has come to them, and asking forgiveness from their Lord, but the sanctions of the ancients befalling them or the torment confronting them? [18: 55]

Hadith of the Day:
God, Almighty and Majestic is He, says: "Whoever is so busy with the remembrance of Me that He has no time to ask Me (for what he desires), I'll give him the best of what I give to those who ask." [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
A sign that Allah has turned away from a servant is that He makes him busy with matters that are of no concern to him. When a person reaches such a point, he must repent and ask Allah to guide him to those matters that are important and beneficial. [Hasan al Basri]

Guidance of the Day:
Getting Through Hard Times: Hard times, stressful times, are not all there is to life, but they are part of life, growth, and moving forward. What we do with hard times, or hard energy, is our choice. We can use the energy of hard times to work out, and work through our issues. We can use it to fine-tune our skills and our spirituality. Or we can go through these situations suffering, storing up bitterness, and refusing to grow or change. Hard times can motivate and mold us to bring out our best. We can use these times to move forward and upward to higher levels of living, loving, and growth.

The choice is ours. Will we let ourselves feel? Will we take a spiritual approach, including gratitude, toward the event? Will we try to know what we are supposed to be learning and doing? Or will we use the incident to prove old, negative beliefs? Will we say, "Nothing good ever happens to me......I'm just a victim......People can't be trusted....Life isn't worth living"?

We do not always require hard energy, or stress, to motivate us to grow and change. We do not have to create stress, seek it, or attract it. But if it's there, we can learn to channel it into growth and use it for achieving what's good in life. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Happiness is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it. There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.

LESSON OF THE DAY 607

Ayah of the Day:
We have elaborated every example in this Recital, but man is contentious about most things. [18: 54]

Hadith of the Day:
My nation will pass through trials which no one will survive but those to whom God has granted life through knowledge. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
You will not be a scholar until you are a student, and you will not be scholar until you act based on the knowledge. [Abu Darda radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Perspective: Too often , we try to gain a clear perspective before it is time. That will make us crazy. We do not always know why things are happening the way they are. We do not always understand the source of our feelings, why we have been led down a particular path, what is being worked out in us, what we are learning, why we had to wait, why we needed to go through a time of discipline, or why a door closed. How our present circumstances will work into the larger scheme of events is not always clear to us. That is how it needs to be.

Perspective will come in retrospect. We could strain for hours today for the meaning of something that may come in an instant next year. Let it go. We can let go of our need to figure things out, to feel in control. Now is the time to be. To feel. To go through it. To allow things to happen. To learn. To let whatever is being worked out in us take its course. In hindsight, we will know. It will become clear. We have been told that all things shall work out for good in our life. We can trust that to happen, even if we cannot see the place today's events will hold in the larger picture. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You've to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, it may not be in your time, that there will be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your actions. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.

LESSON OF THE DAY 606

Ayah of the Day:
When We said to the angels, "Bow to Adam," they bowed, except Iblis; he was one of the sprites, and he disobeyed the direction of his Lord. So do you take him and his heirs for patrons instead of Me, though they are your enemies? What a wretched exchange for those in wrong! [18: 50]

Hadith of the Day:
In every generation of my nation there will be those who outrun others (in doing good). [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Generosity is doing justice without requiring justice. [Imam al Junayd]

Guidance of the Day:
Responsibilities toward children: We have different responsibilities to our children than to other adults. We are financially responsible for our children; we are responsible for providing for their material and physical needs. Our children need to be taught how to help themselves--from tying their shoes to making social plans. They need our love and guidance. They need consistent enforcement of boundaries, once we've established limits. They need a supportive, nurturing environment in which to grow. They need help learning values.

But we are not responsible for controlling our children. Contrary to popular belief, controlling doesn't work. Discipline and nurturing do -- if combined. We need to respond to our children in a responsible way and hold them accountable for their actions at an age-appropriate level. We need only do our best. Seek balance. Seek wisdom. Seek not to have control, but to own our power as people who are parents. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Some tension is necessary for the soul to grow, and we can put that tension to good use. We can look for every opportunity to give and receive love, to appreciate nature, to heal our wounds and the wounds of others, to forgive, and to serve.

LESSON OF THE DAY 605

Ayah of the Day:
And the record will be set out, and you'll see the sinners anxious on account of what is in it, saying, "Alas, woe to us! What is with this record? It omits nothing, small or great, but takes account of it all!" And they will find everything they did before them; and your Lord won't be unjust to anyone at all. [18: 49]

Hadith of the Day:
God has servants who He nourishes with His mercy and whom He revives in good health, while trials pass them by without harming them like the passing of a dark night. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The true believer is the one whose heart is free of rancor, whose time is spent in reflection and contemplation, who is near to the Creator. [Sahl bin Abdullah]

Guidance of the Day:
Patience: Sometimes we get what we want right away. At other times, we wonder if our desires will ever be fulfilled. We will be fulfilled in the best way possible and as quickly as possible. But somethings take time. Sometimes, we have lessons to learn first, lessons that prepare us so we can accept the good we deserve. Things are being worked out in us, and in others. Blocks in us are being removed. A solid foundation is being laid.

Be patient. Relax and trust. Let go. Then, go some more. Good things are planned for us. We will receive them at the first available moment. We will have all our hearts long for. Relax and trust. [The language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Silence is a friend who will never betray. He that would live in peace, must not speak all he knows nor judge all he sees.

LESSON OF THE DAY 604

Ayah of the Day:
One day We will cause the mountains to pass away, and you will see the earth stand out exposed; and We will gather them together, leaving none of them at all [18: 47]

Hadith of the Day:
If a person has standing in God's sight and he cannot reach that station through good works and taqwa, God afflicts him with such tribulations as illness until he does attain it. [Hakim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The key to receiving mercy of Allah is being His slave and helping His creation. [Imam Mannawi]

Guidance of the Day:
Accepting Our Best: We need to do our best for the moment, and let it go. If we have to redo it, we can do our best in another moment, later. We can never do more or better than we are able to do at the moment. We punish ourselves and make ourselves feel crazy by expecting more than our reasonable best for now. Striving for excellence is a positive quality. Striving for perfection is self-defeating.

There comes a time when we feel we have done our best. When that time comes, let it go. There are days when our best is less than we hoped for. Let those times go too. Start over tomorrow. Work things through, until our best becomes better. There is a time for constructive criticism, but if that's all we give ourselves, we will give up. Empowering and complimenting ourselves will not make us lazy. It will nurture us and enable us to give, do, and be our best. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Knowledge is the key to serenity and ease. It is not enough to be merely intelligent. One needs true guidance as well. There is a secret to guide you in this life--and that is to know the triviality of this world.

LESSON OF THE DAY 603

Ayah of the Day:
Wealth and children are adornment of the life of the world, but those things that endure, the good works, are better in the regard of your Lord in terms of reward, and better in terms of hope. [18: 46]

Hadith of the Day:
If you find earthly passions being obeyed, miserliness holding sway, this temporal world being given preference, and everyone admiring his own opinion, you should keep to your own private affairs. [Abu Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Thankfulness for blessings is the condition for attaining more blessings, and ingratitude for blessings is the condition for losing them. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Taking Care of Ourselves on the Job: We set reasonable goals. We take ourselves into account. We strive for balance. We strive to avoid malicious gossip and other self-defeating behaviors. We avoid competition, strive for cooperation and loving spirit. We understand that we may like some people we work with and dislike others, but strive to find harmony and balance with everyone. We strive to maintain good working relationships wherever possible. When we don't know, we say we don't know. When we need help, we ask for it directly. When panic sets in, we address the panic as a separate issue and try not to let our work and behavior be controlled by panic.

If we are part of a team, we strive for healthy teamwork as an opportunity to learn how to work in cooperation with others. We know we do not have to be in situations that make us miserable. We plan a positive solution, understanding we need to take responsibility for ourselves along the way. We practice acceptance, gratitude and faith. One day at a time, we strive to enjoy what is good, solve the problems that are ours to solve, and give the gift of ourselves at work. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
The fact that you are meditating is not as important as what you bring back from your meditation. The goal is to bring back a sense of knowing that you are not alone, that with God, all things are possible.

LESSON OF THE DAY 602

Ayah of the Day:
Present them the simile of the life of the world as like rain We send down from the sky: the earth's vegetation absorbs it, then becomes dry stubble, which the winds scatter. And God is the One who prevails over everything. [18: 45]

Hadith of the Day:
If anyone transgresses and God conceals it and forgives him, He is too Generous to go back on a thing He has forgiven. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Avoiding that which is forbidden is based upon fear, while doing that which is commanded is based upon hope. The whole matter of seeking knowledge is also based on fear. [Sahl bin Abdullah]

Guidance of the Day:
Taking Care of Ourselves on the Job: Taking care of ourselves on the job means we deal with feelings appropriately; we take responsibility for ourselves. We detach, when detachment is called for. We set boundaries, when we need to do that. We negotiate conflicts; we try to separate our issues from the other person's issues, and we don't expect perfection from ourselves or others. We let go of our need to control that which we cannot control. Instead, we strive for peace and manageability. We do not tolerate abuse, nor do we abuse or mistreat anyone else. We work at letting go of our fear and developing appropriate confidence. We try to learn from our mistakes.

We try to not set ourselves up by taking jobs that couldn't possibly work out, or jobs that aren't right for us. If we find ourselves in one of those circumstances, we address the issue responsibly. We figure out what our responsibilities are, and we generally stick to those, unless another agreement is made. We leave room for great days and not-so-great days. We are gentle and loving with people whenever possible, but we are assertive and firm when that is called for. We accept our strengths and build on them. We accept our weaknesses and limitations. We strive to stop trying to control and change what is not our business to change. We focus on what is our responsibility and what we can change. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
One human being is no human being. None of us can truly be human in isolation. The qualities that make us human emerge only in the ways we relate to other people.

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If you subscribe to this blog via e-mail, you may have noticed that the daily update has not been sent for several days, despite the website being regularly updated. Unfortunately we are currently experiencing problems with our e-mail server. Please come join us at the new "Lessons of the Day" listserv if you would like to continue receving the daily lessons in your e-mail.

Jazak'Allah-khair.

LESSON OF THE DAY 601

Ayah of the Day:
For them there are everlasting gardens with streams flowing beneath them, where they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and will wear green clothes of silk and brocade as they recline on couches therein. What a gracious reward and a fine place to rest! [18: 31]

Hadith of the Day:
If anyone transgresses and receives punishment in this world, God is too just to repeat the punishment of His servant in the next life. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The greatest blessing is that one is freed from the shackles of ego, for what greater veil is there between us and the Creator other than the ego. [Abu Bakr Saidlani]

Guidance of the Day:
Procrastination: Procrastination--not acting when the time is right--is a self-defeating behavior. It produces anxiety, guilt, disharmony, and a nagging consciousness of the task that life is telling us it's time to do. We are not always procrastinating when we put off doing something. Sometimes, doing a thing before the time is right can be as self-defeating as waiting too long. We can learn to discern the difference. Listen to yourself. Listen to what is creating anxiety and prodding within you.

Is there something in your life you are avoiding because you don't want to face it? Is there a building anxiety from putting this off? Sometimes anger, fear, or feeling helpless can motivate procrastination. Sometimes, procrastination has simply become habitual. Trust and listen to yourself, watch for signs and signals. If it is time to do something, do it now. If it is not yet time, wait until the time is right. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Idleness is destructive, and most people who suffer from worries and anxieties are the same people who are idle and inactive. Remember, when you kill time, it has no resurrection.

LESSON OF THE DAY 600

Ayah of the Day:
As for those who believe and do good works, We will not neglect the reward of any who does even one good deed. [18: 30]

Hadith of the Day:
Anyone who sees a believer degraded, and, being able to defend him, does not, is degraded by God on the Day of Judgment. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If the belief is truly in the heart, the deeds will not delay in following it whatsoever. The complete recognition of Allah and proper love cannot be in the heart if it does not have an over-riding effect on the outward deeds. [Ibn Taymiyyah]

Guidance of the Day:
Making Amends: When we make amends we need to be clear about what we are apologizing for and the best way to say we are sorry. What we are really doing with our amends is taking responsibility for our behavior. We need to be sure that the process itself will not be self-defeating or hurtful. Sometimes, we need to directly apologize for a particular thing we have done or our part in a problem. Other times, instead of saying "I"m sorry," what we need to do is work on changing our behavior with a person. There are times when bringing up what we have done and apologizing for it will make matters worse.

We need to trust timing, intuition, and guidance in this process of making amends. Once we become willing, we can let go and tackle our amends in a peaceful , consistent, harmonious way. If nothing feels right or appropriate, if it feels as if what we are about to do will cause a crisis or havoc, we need to trust that feeling. Attitude, honesty, openness, and willingness count here. In peace and harmony, we can strive to clear up our relationships. We deserve to be at peace with ourselves and others. [The language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call to make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

LESSON OF THE DAY 599

Ayah of the Day:
Say, "The truth is from your Lord," Let anyone who wishes to, believe, and let anyone who wishes to, disbelieve. We have prepared a fire for the unjust, whose billowing smoke will envelope them. [18: 39]

Hadith of the Day:
God enriches the thrifty and impoverishes the spendthrift; God elevates the humble and whoever tyrannizes others God will crush them. {al-Bazar]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Vain desires is a ruinous companion, and bad habits make up a formidable foe. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Willing to Make Amends: This attitude can begin a great chain of repair and healing in our relationships with others and ourselves. It means we become willing to let go of our hard-heartedness -- one of the greatest blocks to our ability to give and receive love. Before we actually make amends or begin to consider appropriate amends , we allow ourselves to change our attitude. That is where healing begins -- within us. It can change the energy. It can change the dynamics. It can change the process, before we ever open our mouths and say sorry. It opens the door to love. It opens the door to the energy of love and healing. It enables us to release negative feelings and energy, and opens the door to positive feelings and energy. That energy can be felt around the world, and it starts inside us.

How often have we, after we have been hurt, wished that the person would simply recognize our pain and say, "I'm sorry"? How often have we wished that the person would simply see us, hear us, and turn the energy of love our way? How often have we longed for at least a change of heart, a small dose of reconciliation, in relationships tainted by unfinished business and bad feelings? Often. Others do too. It is no secret. The energy of healing begins with us. Our willingness to make amends may or may not benefit the other person; he or she may not be willing to put matters to rest. But we become healed. We become capable of love. Work on a change of heart if hard-heartedness, defensiveness, guilt, or bitterness are present. Be willing to let go of those feelings and have them replaced by the healing energy of love. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
To have inner peace we need to learn to see the value of forgiveness. Unforgiving thoughts do not really bring us the peace of mind that we inwardly seek.

LESSON OF THE DAY 598

Ayah of the Day:
And do not obey anyone whose heart We have allowed to neglect to remember Us, so he follows his own desires and has gotten out of control. [18: 28]

Hadith of the Day:
A person who teaches goodness to others while neglecting his own soul is like an oil lamp, which illumines others while burning itself out. [Tabarani]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The servant who compromises his principles, for himself or another, will never catch even a scent of being true. [Sahl bin Abdullah Tustari]

Guidance of the Day:
Detaching in Relationships: When we first become exposed to the concept of detachment, many of us find it objectionable. We may think that detaching means we don't care. We may believe that by controlling, worrying, and trying to force things to happen, we are showing how much we care. We may believe that controlling, worrying, and forcing will somehow affect the outcome we desire. Controlling, worrying, and forcing don't work. In some cases, controlling may prevent the outcome we want from happening. As we practice the principle of detachment with the people in our life, we slowly begin to learn the truth. Detaching, preferably with love, is a relationship behavior that works.

We can learn something else too. Detachment--letting go of our need to control people--enhances all our relationships. It opens the door to the best possible outcome. It reduces our frustration level, and frees us and others to live in peace and harmony. Detachment means we care, about ourselves and others. It frees us to make the best possible decisions. It enables us to set the boundaries we need to set with people. It allows us to have our feelings, to stop reacting and initiate a positive course of action. It encourages others to do the same. It allows our Higher Power to step in and work. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. We have committed the Golden Rule to memory. Now let us commit it to life.

LESSON OF THE DAY 597

Ayah of the Day:
Keep yourself patient with those who call on their Lord morning and evening seeking to honor God: and do not disregard them, seeking the finery of the life of the world. [18: 28]

Hadith of the Day:
Whoever eats pure food, acts with prophetic scruples, and secures others from his own misfortunes shall enter Paradise. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Do not think evil of anything that comes from your brother Muslim's tongue whenever there is a way to interpret it in a good way. [Omar radi Allah anhu]]

Guidance of the Day:
Valuing this Moment: This moment, we are right where we need to be, right where we are meant to be. How often we waste our time and energy wishing we were someone else, were doing something else, or were someplace else. We may wish our present circumstances were different. We needlessly confuse ourselves and divert our energy by thinking that our present moment is a mistake. But we are right where we need to be for now. Our feelings, thoughts, circumstances, challenges, tasks -- all of it is on schedule. We spoil the beauty of the present moment by wishing for something else.

Come back home to yourself. Come back home to the present moment. We will not change things by escaping or leaving the moment. We will change things by surrendering to and accepting the moment. Some moments are easier to accept than others. To trust the process, to trust all of it, without hanging on to the past or peering too far into the future, requires a great deal of faith. Surrender to the moment. Get into the moment; the moment is right. We are where we are, and it is okay. It is right where we are meant to be to get where we are going tomorrow. And that place will be good. it has been planned in love for us. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Judge your worth in the Creator's sight by how much space He occupies in your heart, and your worth in people's eyes by how you treat them.

LESSON OF THE DAY 596

Ayah of the Day:
Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. No one can change the words of God, and you will find no refuge without God. [18: 27]

Hadith of the Day:
Whoever does you a favor, repay him; and if you are unable to, then atleast pray for him. [Tabarani]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Remain silent about favors done by you, yet proclaim the favors others do for you. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Healing Thoughts: Think healing thoughts. When you feel anger or resentment, ask God to help you. Feel it, learn from it, and then release it. Ask Him to bless those who you feel anger toward. Ask Him to bless you too. When you feel fear, ask Him to take it from you. When you feel misery, force gratitude. When you feel deprived, know that there is enough. When you feel ashamed, reassure yourself that who you are is okay. You are good enough. When you doubt your timing or your present position in life, assure yourself that all is well; you are right where you are meant to be. Reassure yourself that others are too.

When you ponder the future, tell yourself that it will be good. When you look back at the past, relinquish regrets. When you notice problems, affirm there will be a timely solution and a gift from the problem. When you resist feelings or thoughts, practice acceptance. When you feel discomfort, know it will pass. When you identify a need, tell yourself it will be met. When you worry about those who you love, ask God to protect and care for them. When you worry about yourself, ask Him to do the same. When you think about others, think love. When you think about yourself think love. Then watch your thoughts transform reality. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Any fool can tell the truth, but it requires a man of some sense to know how to lie well. The liar's punishment is not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else.

LESSON OF THE DAY 595

Ayahs of the Day:
And never say of anything, "I will certainly do that tomorrow," without "if God wills." And remember your Lord when you have forgotten, and say, "Perhaps my Lord will guide me closer than this in integrity." [18: 23,24]

Hadith of the Day:
Whoever decides to relocate solely to study sacred knowledge is forgiven before even setting out. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
One of your sins should seem weightier to you than thousand of your virtues. [Imam Ja'far al Sadiq]

Guidance of the Day:
Friends: Don't overlook the value of friendship. Don't neglect friends. Friends are a joy. Adult friendship can be a good place for us to learn to have fun and to appreciate how much fun we can have with a friend. Friends can be a comfort. Who knows us better, or is more able to give us support, than a good friend? A friendship is a comfortable place to be ourselves. Often our choice of friends will reflect the issues we are working on. Giving and receiving support will help both people grow.

Some friendships wax and wane, going through cycles throughout the years. Some trail off when one person outgrows the other. Certainly, we will have trials and tests in friendships and, at times, be called on to practice our recovery behaviors. But some friends will last a life time. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Know that anxiety and restlessness are of no use. Sometimes you should look at the level of hardship you are bearing and appreciate that things could have been worse.

LESSON OF THE DAY 594

Ayahs of the Day:
We made everything on earth an ornament for it, that We might test which of them are best in behavior. And We will make everything on earth dust and desert. [18: 7,8]

Hadith of the Day:
A parent can give a child no greater gift than beautiful manners. [Hakim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Whatever possessions and objects of its desires the lower self may obtain, it hangs on to them, refusing to let them go out of greed for more, or out of fear of poverty and need. [Mawlana Rumi]

Guidance of the Day:
Directness: Direct people are a joy to be around. We never have to guess what they are really thinking or feeling, because they are honest about their thoughts and openly express their feelings. We never have to wonder if they are with us because they want to be, or if they are out of guilt and obligation. When they do something for us, we don't have to worry whether they will end up resenting us because direct people generally do things that please themselves.

We don't have to fuss about the status of our relationship because if we ask, they will tell us. We don't have to worry if they are angry because they deal openly with their anger and resolve it quickly. We don't have to ponder whether they are talking about us behind our backs because if they have something to say, it will be said to us directly. We don't have to wonder if we can rely on them because direct people are trustworthy. Wouldn't it be nice if we were all direct? [The Language of letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Love cures people---both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.

LESSON OF THE DAY 593

Ayahs of the Day:
And to warn those who say God has begotten a son. They have no knowledge of this, nor had their ancestors. What comes out of their mouths is intolerable as a maxim; for they are only telling a lie. [18: 4,5]

Hadith of the Day:
Neither argue with nor tease your brother, and never give your word to him and then break it. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Your postponement of deeds till the time when you are free is one of the frivolities of the ego. [Ibn Ataillah]

Guidance of the Day:
Letting Go of Perfection: Stop expecting perfection from yourself and those around you. We do a terrible, annoying thing to ourselves and others when we expect perfection. We set up a situation where others, including ourselves, do not feel comfortable with us. Sometimes, expecting perfection makes people so uptight that they and we make more mistakes than normal because we are so nervous and focused on mistakes.

That does not mean we allow inappropriate behaviors with the excuse that "nobody's perfect." That doesn't mean we don't have boundaries and reasonable expectations of people and ourselves. But our expectations need to be reasonable. Expecting perfection is not reasonable. People make mistakes. The less anxious, intimidated, and repressed they are by expectations of being perfect, the better they will do. Striving for excellence, purity in creativity, a harmonious performance, and the best we have to offer does not happen in the stymied, negative, fear-producing atmosphere of expecting perfection.

Have and set boundaries. Have reasonable expectations. Strive to do your best. Encourage others to do the same. But know that we and others will make mistakes. Know that we and others will have learning experiences, things we go through. Sometimes, the flaws and imperfections in ourselves determine our uniqueness, the way they do in a piece of art. Relish them. Laugh at them. Embrace them, and ourselves. Encourage others and ourselves to do the best we can. Love and nurture ourselves and others for being who we are. Then realize we are not merely human--we are intended and created to be human. [The Language of Letting Go]

Food for Thought:
Life is a song -- sing it.
Life is a game -- play it.
Life is a challenge -- meet it.
Life is a dream -- realize it.
Life is a sacrifice -- offer it.
Life is a love -- enjoy it.